Combined sleigh and wagon.



T. BURKE.

COMBINED SLEIGH AND WAGON.

APRLICATION FILED APR.24, |915.

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- rr STATES PAT Nr onion. f

THOMAS BURKE, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMBINED SLEIGH AND WAGON.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 24, 1915. Serial No. 23,5915.

l To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS BURKE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Sleigh and Wagon, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a sleigh which is, at the same time, a wagon or, to speak more strictly, to a sleigh which may instantly and at will be converted into a wagon when occasion demands and which may be as quickly converted backx into a sleigh when such usey is preferred.

More particularly my invention relates to a sleigh as above, which is permanently provided with wheels andmeans for instantly causing said wheels to supersede the sleigh runners whend'esired and for as quickly replacing said wheelsin inoperative position.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive construction for a A further object of my invention sleigh as aforesaid. i

is to provide a sleigh of the character described in which the operative parts are so arranged that the change from runners to wheels, or from wheels to runners, may easily bev made,

4at least 'where the vehicle is small, while the same is in motion and without stopping or dismounting therefrom. l

Sleighs of the character herein described will be found useful in times of thaw or insulicient snowfall atwhich times bare spots are apt to alternate with snow covered spots.

' My invention will be found of particular f My inventionwill be better understood by referring' to the accompanying drawing in` whichy v Figures 1 to 3 show my invention as applied to a typical childs sled, Fig.l 1 being `a central longitudinalsection showing the wheels in inoperative position, Fig. 2 being a similar view but showing the wheels in operative position, and- Fig. 3 being a plan vlew with the wheels in operative position.

Referring to the drawings the sled shown therein comprises the usual two stout sides 1, shod with runners 2, and united by a top 3 and cross braces 4. The wheels 5 are preferably four in number'and disposed in pairs, each pair being rotatably mounted on bearings provided at the :end of a shaft 6, which Patented sept. 2i, i915. Y

shaft is just a little shorter than the distance l between the two sides 1.

. On the facing surfaces of the two sides 1 1s fastened, near the front and also near the rear of the sled, a pair of similar groovedv metal guides 7 each groove comprises an upper short horizontal section at the front anda lower similar sectioni at the rear the two being united by a considerably longer inclined section between them. The ends of the shafts 6 are engaged with-the grooves of these opposite guides.-

. The two shafts 6 areJ connected together,

. on each side of the sled, by a connecting bar 8 through which the shafts pass or in which lthe shafts may be fixed. The front end of each bar 8 is forked and pivo-tally connected to one end o-f a link 9, the other end of which has similar pivotal connection with the shorter arm of an operating lever 10.

The two operating. levers 10` are fiXedly attached to a sleeve 11 which is rotatably mounted upon a'shaft 12 which is connected between and attached to the -two sides 1.

The longer arms of each lever 10 terminate in stout handles 13; nForward. clips 14, at` tached-to the sides l, grasp andhold the handles 13 when the wheels are in operative position and otherclips 15 serve similarly when the wheels are in inoperativeposition.

My improved sled is operated as follows:

TheHwheels being in inoperative position, as

-in Fig. l, thehandles 13 are thrown upward and forward till caught by the clips 14. This, through link 9 and connecting bar 8, will force the shafts 6 rearwardly and downwardly in the guides 7 and throw the wheels 5 down below the runners so as to convert the sledinto a wagon, as in Fig. 2. Revers- -ing the above movement of levers 10 will,

lof course, again bring the wheels into i11- operative position' and convert the structure back into a sled.

The above operations of lowering or raisf herein illustrated.

ing the wheels, so as to provide either a wagon or atsled-at will, maybe performed as readily when one is sitting on the vehicle and it is in motion,ias when it is standing still; this holds good, at any rate, for small Vehicles such as the preferred form Having described my invention, I claim: 1. In combination with a vsled having runner shod sides, pairs of oppositely disposeddownwardly and rearwardly inclined y grooved guides sup-ported by said sides, the front ends of said grooves being horizontal,

axles having ends engaged with said guides, wheels carried by the axles, a connecting l bar between the axles, a lever fulcrumed upon the frame, and a link between lever and connecting bar so that the wheels may be lower below or raised above the runners at will.

2. In combination' with a sled having runner shod sides, pairs of positively disposed downwardly and rearwardly inclined wheels may be lowered'below or raised above the runners at will.

3. In combination with a vsled having runner shod sides, pairs of oppositely disposed downwardly and rearwardly inclined grooved guides supported by said sides7 the front ends of said grooves being horizontal, axles having ends enga-ged with said guides, wheels carried by the axles, a connecting bar between the axles, a lever of the first class fulcrumed upon thefront of the sled, and a link between one end of the lever and the connecting bar, the lever and link being so proportioned and positioned that a movement of the lever through substantially 180 raises the wheels Yabove the runners with the axles in the horizontal part of the grooves or lowers the wheels below 'the runners, there being further a stop attached to the sled below the outer end of the lever when the wheels are in their lowermost position. t j

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two .subscribing witnesses.

y THOMAS BURKE Witnesses: l A

ELMER G. WILLYOUNG,

E. WIESE. 

